I attach some before and after photos of my restored original ledermantel. The coat was in very good condition to start off with, and without any serious damage, considering it is circa 79 years old. However, it was worn and scuffed, and the dye had worn off in places, particularly the arms. Here is how I restored it;

The products I used were Made by Leatherique Ltd, and supplied through their UK agent Restorite Ltd.

a) I treated the leather with five treatments of Leatherique's Rejuvenation Oil (n.b. contains no petroleum or mineral oil derivatives) at weekly intervals, to re-moisturise the coat and restore flexibility to the leather. This was very effective.

b) After this I treated the coat once with Leatherique's Prestine Clean surface cleaner to remove the sticky surface residue left by the Rejuvenation Oil (recommended by manufacturer).

c) Next, I had custom dye prepared by Leatherique, colour matched to the original dye used on the coat. This was a dark blue-grey colour.

d) The coat was now prepared for dyeing by treating with Leatherique's Prepping Agent. After leaving overnight to dry, a first coat of dye was applied using a small brush in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations. The following day a second coat was applied using a wipe dye technique with a soft cloth.

The results are fantastic. The garment has the look and feel of a new coat, and matches contemporary leather jackets I own in quality and finish. In fact the photos do not do it justice, it looks even better in reality.

This is a shot of me wearing my restored original ledermantel (c. 1937). The cap is by Michael Janke. The gloves are post war Luftwaffe pilots gloves, but they are identical to the war time ones. The scarf is a blue polka dot silk one of the pattern popular with Luftwaffe (and allied) fliers. The fur collar is a removable one I had made specially to fit the coat.

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